Johann Karl Philipp, Graf von Cobenzl (21 July 1712 in Laibach (now

Ljubljana Ljubljana (also known by other historical names) is the capital and largest city of Slovenia. It is the country's cultural, educational, economic, political and administrative center. During antiquity, a Roman city called Emona stood in the ar ...

) – 27 January 1770 in

Brussels Brussels (french: Bruxelles or ; nl, Brussel ), officially the Brussels-Capital Region (All text and all but one graphic show the English name as Brussels-Capital Region.) (french: link=no, Région de Bruxelles-Capitale; nl, link=no, Bruss ...

) was an 18th-century politician in the

Habsburg monarchy The Habsburg monarchy (german: Habsburgermonarchie, ), also known as the Danubian monarchy (german: Donaumonarchie, ), or Habsburg Empire (german: Habsburgerreich, ), was the collection of empires, kingdoms, duchies, counties and other polities ...

. He was minister plenipotentiary of the

Austrian Netherlands The Austrian Netherlands nl, Oostenrijkse Nederlanden; french: Pays-Bas Autrichiens; german: Österreichische Niederlande; la, Belgium Austriacum. was the territory of the Burgundian Circle of the Holy Roman Empire between 1714 and 1797. The p ...

in Brussels under Empress

Maria Theresia Maria Theresa Walburga Amalia Christina (german: Maria Theresia; 13 May 1717 – 29 November 1780) was ruler of the Habsburg dominions from 1740 until her death in 1780, and the only woman to hold the position ''suo jure'' (in her own right). ...

from 1753 until his death in 1770. Jan Davidsz

Life

Cobenzl was born in 1712 in Laibach, the capital of the

Duchy of Carniola The Duchy of Carniola ( sl, Vojvodina Kranjska, german: Herzogtum Krain, hu, Krajna) was an imperial estate of the Holy Roman Empire, established under House of Habsburg, Habsburg rule on the territory of the former East Frankish March of Carn ...

in the Habsburg Empire (present-day

Slovenia Slovenia ( ; sl, Slovenija ), officially the Republic of Slovenia (Slovene: , abbr.: ''RS''), is a country in Central Europe. It is bordered by Italy to the west, Austria to the north, Hungary to the northeast, Croatia to the southeast, an ...

) as the son of Johann Caspar von Cobenzl (1664-1742), Imperial councillor and his second wife Carolina Sophia von Rindsmaul (1682-1756), and thus a member of the Austrian Von Cobenzl family. He studied in

Leiden Leiden (; in English and archaic Dutch also Leyden) is a city and municipality in the province of South Holland, Netherlands. The municipality of Leiden has a population of 119,713, but the city forms one densely connected agglomeration wit ...

and

Würzburg Würzburg (; Main-Franconian: ) is a city in the region of Franconia in the north of the German state of Bavaria. Würzburg is the administrative seat of the ''Regierungsbezirk'' Lower Franconia. It spans the banks of the Main River. Würzburg is ...

and subsequently became treasurer of the emperor in 1730. Five years later, in 1735, he was appointed Imperial councillor, in succession of his father. From 1738 onward, he was committed to solve the boundary problems between

Upper Lorraine The Duchy of Lorraine (french: Lorraine ; german: Lothringen ), originally Upper Lorraine, was a duchy now included in the larger present-day region of Lorraine in northeastern France. Its capital was Nancy. It was founded in 959 following th ...

and

Lower Lorraine The Duchy of Lower Lotharingia, also called Northern Lotharingia, Lower Lorraine or Northern Lorraine (and also referred to as ''Lothier'' or ''Lottier''

. During the reign of Empress Maria Theresia he was travelling as an envoy throughout the Habsburg Empire solving all kinds of problems. On 19 May 1753, Cobenzl was appointed minister plenipotentiary of the

in Brussels by Empress Maria Theresia. His predecessor was

Antoniotto Botta Adorno Antoniotto Botta Adorno. Antoniotto Botta Adorno, also Anton Otto Marchese Botta d'Adorno (Castelletto di Branduzzo, 1688 - Torre d'Isola, 29 December 1774) was a high officer of the Habsburg monarchy and a plenipotentiary of the Austrian Netherla ...

who then became Prime minister of

Tuscany Tuscany ( ; it, Toscana ) is a Regions of Italy, region in central Italy with an area of about and a population of about 3.8 million inhabitants. The regional capital is Florence (''Firenze''). Tuscany is known for its landscapes, history, art ...

. In 1759, Cobenzl was appointed member of the

Order of the Golden Fleece The Distinguished Order of the Golden Fleece ( es, Insigne Orden del Toisón de Oro, german: Orden vom Goldenen Vlies) is a Catholic order of chivalry founded in Bruges by Philip the Good, Duke of Burgundy, in 1430, to celebrate his marriage ...

. Cobenzl's long term in office as minister plenipotentiary is seen as a successful period, although he constantly had to struggle with lack of money. Well noted is his strong ambition for arts and culture throughout his life and he collected a huge amount of art. In 1768 in Brussels

Catherine the Great , en, Catherine Alexeievna Romanova, link=yes , house = , father = Christian August, Prince of Anhalt-Zerbst , mother = Joanna Elisabeth of Holstein-Gottorp , birth_date = , birth_name = Princess Sophie of Anhal ...

bought the collections of Count Karl von Cobenzl and Prince Charles de Ligne which are now displayed in the

Hermitage Museum The State Hermitage Museum ( rus, Государственный Эрмитаж, r=Gosudarstvennyj Ermitaž, p=ɡəsʊˈdarstvʲɪn(ː)ɨj ɪrmʲɪˈtaʂ, links=no) is a museum of art and culture in Saint Petersburg, Russia. It is the list of ...

Saint Petersburg Saint Petersburg ( rus, links=no, Санкт-Петербург, a=Ru-Sankt Peterburg Leningrad Petrograd Piter.ogg, r=Sankt-Peterburg, p=ˈsankt pʲɪtʲɪrˈburk), formerly known as Petrograd (1914–1924) and later Leningrad (1924–1991), i ...

, Russia. In 1769, a 'literary society' was established by Count Johann Karl Philipp von Cobenzl in Brussels, initially led by Johann Daniel Schöpflin and with regard to its resources mainly based on the vast collection of books and manuscripts of the library of the Burgundian dukes. These books and manuscripts were saved from destruction by fire when the

Coudenberg The Palace of Coudenberg (french: Palais du Coudenberg, nl, Coudenbergpaleis) was a royal residence situated on the Coudenberg or Koudenberg (; Dutch for "Cold Hill"), a small hill in what is today the Royal Quarter of Brussels, Belgium. F ...

Palace, the residence of the archdukes, burnt down in 1731. However, shortly after the foundation of the society, Cobenzl died in Brussels in January 1770 at the age of 57.

Georg Adam, Prince of Starhemberg Johann Georg Adam Graf von Starhemberg, since 1765 Fürst von Starhemberg (''prince of Starhemberg'') (10 August 1724 in London – 19 April 1807 in Vienna) was an Austrian diplomat, minister, chief chamberlain and close confidant of Empress ...

(1724-1807) became his successor as minister plenipotentiary of the Austrian Netherlands. Starhemberg continued the efforts of his predecessor in Brussels by transforming Cobenzl's 'literary society' in 1772 into the '

Imperial and Royal Academy of Brussels The Imperial and Royal Academy (French: ''Académie impériale et royale de Bruxelles''; Dutch: ''Keizerlijke en koninklijke academie van Brussel'') was founded in Brussels by letters patent of the Empress Maria Theresa dated 16 December 1772 , to p ...

' with the approval of Empress Maria Theresia.

Private life

On 24 November 1734, Johann Karl Philipp von Cobenzl married Maria Theresia Katharina Walburga

Pálffy ab Erdöd The House of Pálffy ab Erdöd, also known as ''Pálffy von Erdöd'', ''Pálffy de Erdöd'', or ''Pálffy of Erdöd'', is the name of a Hungarian noble family. Several members of the family held significant positions in the Habsburg monarchy. H ...

(1719 - 1771), a granddaughter of Imperial

field marshal Field marshal (or field-marshal, abbreviated as FM) is the most senior military rank, ordinarily senior to the general officer ranks. Usually, it is the highest rank in an army and as such few persons are appointed to it. It is considered as ...

Johann Bernhard Stephan, Graf Pálffy ab Erdöd Johann, typically a male given name, is the German form of ''Iohannes'', which is the Latin form of the Greek name ''Iōánnēs'' (), itself derived from Hebrew name ''Yochanan'' () in turn from its extended form (), meaning "Yahweh is Gracious" ...

(1664 - 1751). Ten children stemmed from this marriage, among them his famous son Johann Ludwig, Graf von Cobenzl, born in 1753.''Cobenzl, Ludwig'' (ADB)
at deutsche-biographie.de (in German) Karl von Cobenzl was a proponent of Enlightenment and a crucial figure for the promotion and support of Enlightenment in the Habsburg Netherlands. Due to his lavish spending on art, the deceased count left his wife a huge amount of debt in 1770. These debts were repaid by Empress Maria Theresa who subsequently also supported the widow.

Descendants

# Johanna Maria Anna (* 1735, † 1736) # Marie Eleonore : married to the 3rd Marquess of Becelaere, who was executed by Guillotine. # Marie Thérèse von Cobenzl (1739-1778): marr. Philippe Roger Joseph de Varick de Sart Baulai. # Franz Joseph (* 1740, † 1741) # Josepha (* 16. März 1741, † 1741) # Johann Karl (* 14. Juli 1742, † 6. December 1751) # Johann Ludwig, Graf von Cobenzl, born in 1753

External links

''ADB:Cobenzl''
at de.wikisource.org (in German)

at deutsche-biographie.de (in German)
''Cobenzl''
at viaf.org

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Cobenzl, Johann Karl Philipp von 1712 births 1770 deaths Politicians from Ljubljana Politicians from Brussels Counts of Austria 18th-century Austrian people Austrian diplomats Knights of the Golden Fleece Members of the Royal Academy of Belgium Diplomats from Ljubljana

Life

Private life

Descendants

See also

External links

References